I wrote here how the media reported that the controversial film, "Innocence of Muslims," was made "with Jewish money, by a Jewish filmmaker" – an Israeli, in fact, trying to "help his native land."

We now know that the filmmaker is really an Egyptian-American Coptic Christian named Nakoula Basseley Nakoula. Yet Associated Press and others failed in this most basic obligation to fact-check.

Not surprisingly, the Muslim world has continued this theme, blaming the Jews for producing the inflammatory anti-Islam film.

This cartoon appeared in the newspapers Ar-Raya (Qatar) and Ash-Shuruq (Algeria).

The caption reads: "The Killing of the US Ambassador in Libya." Note the stars of David on the filmmaker's shirtsleeves.

Tragically, these lies are more than just factual inaccuracies or a PR issue. These myths remain firmly engraved in Arab lore, fomenting an atmosphere of mistrust that will linger for decades, and that ultimately undermine the possibility of peaceful coexistence.

Visitor Comments: 2

(2)
Anonymous,
November 1, 2012 1:41 PM

Arabs blame Jews for Toxic Film

The very root of Arab hate comes from their religious leaders. The Arab is then a walking time bomb that is waiting to be ignited and exploded. The mention of religious names and symbols means death even to innocent lives. This is a cult of death. Not life.

(1)
Yaakov,
September 25, 2012 5:46 AM

The Film Was An Excuse, Not the Cause

It is fairly clearly documented that the Arabs had planned an aggressive action against the US Embassy for 9/11 as a terrorist act. This obscure, amateurish film (which noone would have heard of otherwise) was an afterthought. Of course, blaming it on the Jews was gravy.

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About a year ago I received a bicycle as a birthday gift. (My first one since elementary school!) It quickly became my main mode of transportation, as well as my primary source of exercise. I took it everywhere and loved it.

Last week I rode it to a meeting in Jerusalem, near the Old City. The meeting lasted only two hours, but when I came out my bike was totally gone – no helmet, no lock, no trace remaining.

It was a real shock and, after filing a police report, I had a long walk home to think about why this might have happened to me.

I realized that I'd been feeling a bit self-inflated about my bike. It just had a tune-up and I was feeling really great about it. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that – the Almighty wants us to be energized and productive.

But I was harboring a bit of self-pride about the whole thing. You know, "Aren't I so cool." And this was getting in the way of my building a relationship with God.

You see, a relationship with God starts with the recognition of His profound greatness. The more we see the unparalleled power of God, the more we put our human-ness into perspective. Arrogance gets in the way of that; humility enables it to happen.

Unfortunately humility has gotten a bad rap. Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is the recognition of our own place in the universe. By not letting our ego – our sense of "self" – get in the way, we can tap into our near-infinite Divine potential. As "the most humble of all men" (Numbers 12:3), that humility is precisely what made Moses the greatest of all time.

As Rabbi Noah Weinberg writes, the Talmud likens arrogance to idol worship: both push away the presence of God.

Rosh Hashanah is the key day of the year to forge a connection with God. So it seems that going into Rosh Hashanah, having my bike taken away was the dose of humility necessary to knock me down a notch… and make that deep "High Holiday" connection with God.

And there's more good news: My homeowner's insurance pays for a replacement.

Visitor Comments: 2

(1)
Lisa,
November 14, 2012 12:28 PM

So now how do you feel on your bike???

Your bike was stolen bc somebody wanted it. Things get stolen....that is why " do not steal" is one of the Top Ten. I don't think it was bc you thought you were " so cool." And frankly what's wrong with feeling a bit "cool." Doesn't it say in the Torah that we should always be samayach? Glad you got another bike... Enjoy it !!!
Tb

rozanne,
December 7, 2012 8:02 AM

Iagree totally

Maybe the thief needed it more . . . . . .

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(1)
Anonymous,
September 16, 2012 10:26 AM

love it

Thank you so much. Just what I needed to read and see!
Baruch Hashem. It is time to detach ourselves from the lure of materialism and connect to that of principal importance in life - our Spirituality. Shana Tova

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Pro-Palestinian activists produce fake "children's art" in order to better pull at the heartstrings of a Western audience.

Sep 10, 2012 at 05:11:24 PM

The "demonize Israel" campaign was in full swing last week in Ontario, Canada, with an exhibit of "Gaza Children's Artwork" at an event called MuslimFest.

There's nothing wrong with that. Except in this case, the "art" was not drawn by children at all, but rather by sophisticated artists trying to mimic a child's style, in order to better pull at the heartstrings of a Western audience.

The unanimous opinion of experts is that these drawings – which depict various scenes of "Israeli brutality" – are far too sophisticated to have been drawn by children. The symbolism, detail, coloring and motifs all indicate the work of trained artists imitating the style of a child. Note, for example, how the dynamic brushstrokes are well conceived and controlled, and how the people are drawn in a clear single-line outline. No child does that.

Here's another clear indication this is a big fake: One would think that a children's art exhibit would eagerly publicize the names of the artists and elaborate on their own personal stories – which is often more compelling than the art. Yet for some bizarre reason, none of the drawings are signed, and none of the "artists" in this exhibit are named.

One anti-Israel website tried to explain away this omission, claiming that the art was often drawn and painted in the dark, due to limited electricity and frequent power outages as a result of the "Israeli siege of Gaza."

Hmmm... So kids can spend an hour drawing an intricate picture, but can't find the ten seconds to write their own names?

The crazy thing is that Festivals and Events Ontario, a non-profit organization that supports various public festivals in Canada, gave a $40,000 grant to MuslimFest.

Honestly, none of this surprises me. Remember Muhammed al-Dura, the suspicious scene of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy allegedly caught in crossfire and killed at the beginning of the second Intifada? Now in Ontario, visitors to a public art festival are subject to the same kind of scam. It's all part of what I call "Pallywood," a cottage industry dedicated to producing Palestinian propaganda materials that demonize Israel. Calling it out is the best way to neutralize its poisonous effect.

Visitor Comments: 11

(11)
Anonymous,
October 9, 2012 6:15 AM

Now hosting this exhibit in Canada

Your remarks are biased and disingenuous. You consult one art professor not "experts) with no attribution. You cite lack of identity of children as another proof of it being fake, when the curator herself - an eye witness to the art being drawn - explains in her documentation why this is so. You sound like an ally of Holocaust deniers attacking the renowned children's art exhibit/book "I Never Saw Another Butterfly." I show this book to people who visit the ACVG exhibit to show the universality of children traumatized by war. Have you heard of Dr. Izzie Abulaish? I suggest you read his book "I Shall Not Hate" and stop demonizing an entire people. Diidn't Jews learn this from our own experience in Nazi Germany?

(10)
Anonymous,
September 13, 2012 12:51 PM

2nd Comment

It also occurs to me that the irony of these drawings are all greater since such drawings might accurately portray the experience of an Israeli child in Sderot or Ashkelon!

(9)
Dvirah,
September 13, 2012 12:49 PM

Another "Blub"

Another thing which is highly suspicious is that the ages of the artists are not given. I have never seen a collection of children's work, from art to poetry to essays, where the ages of the composers were not given. (It is all the more impressive when one sees that the insightful essay one has just read was written by a 12-year-old!)

(8)
geoff brennan,
September 12, 2012 9:43 PM

god loves ya so do i PEACE brother

god loves ya so do i PEACE brother

(7)
tracy,
September 12, 2012 11:36 AM

It really breaks my heart to see grown ups using such VILE drawings to make it look like a child drew it,to make a hate statement. The world needs to open there eyes to how evil people really can be, start praying to our Heavenly Father to protect us from these evil spirits that seem to spread like wildfire. God help us all protect Israel and bring her peace. Thank you for the news letter. God Bless and continue using you for his great purpose..

(6)
Beverly Margolis-Kurtin,
September 12, 2012 5:55 AM

Big Lies, Small Minds

Nothing that comes from the "minds" of the propagandists who glorify so-called "Palestinians." Those people are nothing more or less than Arabs whose "land" is Jordan and Syria.
They were offered their own country WAY back in '48 and they said NO! They wanted the entire land for their own. Well, tough. All the Arabs know is to say NO to everything that can lead to their having their own independent state.
The three BIG no's are:
1. No recognition of Israel
2. No peace with Israel
3. No negotiations with Israel
So be it. Now the question is how does the world get the word that those people are the only ones keeping then from having their own country?
The responsibility for the Israel slamming is ISRAEL! They thought and to a certain extent still think that they don't have to answer to anyone about anything. So the Arabs, whose leaders have learned the propaganda ploy of the Nazis: THE BIG LIE!
Because Israel has permitted the world to mess with them, NOW they need to tell the BIG TRUTH...over and over and over and over and over again.

(5)
Lorral,
September 12, 2012 12:29 AM

Gaza Art

I say Amen to you. You keep on making monkey's out of them, they should be ashamed, but I guess that would be an impossibility, because you have to have a conscience in order to feel shame.

(4)
Gary Katz,
September 11, 2012 10:07 PM

Unfortunately, people fall for this stuff

It's no different from their practice of placing a stuffed animal on top of the wreckage of a building which Israel destroyed because it contained a terrorist weapons cache. Next thing I know, I'm reading reader comments in newspapers all over Europe, berating Israel for targeting children. Yeech!

(3)
Elizabeth,
September 11, 2012 9:15 PM

Sorry from N.Ireland

I'm so sorry to see that Israel is being demonized again. I'm not Jewish but it hurts me to see such slander occur for no other reason than that you are Jewish. I feel the weight of this in my heart.

(2)
Anonymous,
September 11, 2012 6:01 PM

Citing authorities would lend more credibility

Not that I doubt what you write, but it would carry much more weight if it were supported by an identified art authority or institution. I clicked on the link for "opinion of experts," which took me to a page on fresnozionism.org that cited only an anonymous "professor of Art at a local university," presumably in Fresno. Surely there is a recognized art critic, professor or children's art expert in Ontario (if not elsewhere) who would be willing to go on the record.

(1)
Anonymous,
September 11, 2012 4:23 PM

Fake Gaza Art/ intifada

Fake Gaza Art demonizes Israel and the U.S. ........posing as child art....

We're all incredibly busy, and sometimes our myriad responsibilities – work, social, health, etc. – clash with the core goal of giving proper attention to our children. So assuming we cannot give them optimal attention 100% of the time, how can be assured that our children will have the secure feeling that we absolutely love them with full devotion?

One of Rav Moshe's grandson's was becoming a Bar Mitzvah, but Rav Moshe was unable to attend, as it coincided with a major rabbinical conference taking place the same day.

Rav Moshe's son, Rabbi Reuven Feinstein – the father of the Bar Mitzvah boy – was asked how he felt about his illustrious father not being able to attend. His answer: "It's alright. I know that my father loves me."

He then described a few incidents in his childhood which served as a constant reminder of his father's great love for him:

In the New York winter, before waking up his son for school, Rav Moshe would put the boy's clothes on the radiator so they would be toasty-warm.

Over the years, many famous and important people joined the family's Shabbat table. Yet Rav Moshe never allowed any visitor – no matter how wealthy or well-connected – to supplant his son's seat next to his father at the table.

I thought about this in reading an article by Erin Kurt, who spent 16 years as a teacher around the world. Every year, she would ask her students what their mother did that made them feel happy or loved.

She reports that

surprisingly, many of the responses were the same. Year after year, in every country I taught, and in every type of demographic, the students were saying the same things and had the same message:

It's the small things that their mothers did that meant the most and that they remembered.

Here's a list of the top 10 things kids say they remember and love most about their mothers:

1. Comes into my bedroom at night, tucks me in and sings me a song. She also tells me stories about when she was little.
2. Gives me hugs and kisses, and sits and talks with me privately.
3. Spends quality time just with me, not with my brothers and sisters around.
4. Gives me nutritious food so I can grow up healthy.
5. At dinner, she talks about what we could do together on the weekend.
6. At night, she talks to me about anything – love, school, family, etc.
7. She lets me play outside a lot.
8. We cuddle under a blanket and watch our favorite show together.
9. She disciplines me. It makes me feel like she cares.
10. She leave special messages in my desk or lunch bag.

So what's the key to instilling a lifelong feeling of security, acceptance and love? Small acts of thoughtfulness that make your kids feel important and cared for. Good advice.

Visitor Comments: 2

(2)
Anonymous,
September 15, 2012 10:55 PM

The article on what mothers did to make their children feel loved. It would be wonderful if every mother and father could read this understand it and apply it. i do believe there would be less crime, more direction in the human race and most of all, contribute to more peace in the world. It was stated once ".......Whoever rocks the cradle rules the world' I think it was President Roosevelt a USA President.

(1)
Ken,
September 10, 2012 2:42 AM

Love the eclectic mix

This blog always has something interesting. I love the Israel stuff, but love the mix, too. Thanks!

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About this Blog

Shraga's Blog presents an eclectic mix of insights on current topics through the lens of Torah Judaism.
The author, Rabbi Shraga Simmons, holds a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, and
rabbinic ordination from the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. He is the senior editor of Aish.com and the director
of JewishPathways.com. He was the founding editor of HonestReporting.com and is the author of a new book,
David & Goliath: The Explosive Inside Story of Media Bias in
the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (2012).